Hundreds of homes Brooklyn and Queens are being recruited for an experiment to create a "clean virtual power plant" that feeds the electric grid with solar energy.

New York utility Consolidated Edison and solar companies SunPower and Sunverge are working together on a $15 million pilot program that offers rooftop PV panels plus a lithium-ion battery to more than 300 homeowners. The goal is to build a mini power plant synchronized by an aggregation of residential solar panels and energy storage systems. This would be the largest residential energy storage project in the U.S.